Getting to Lisbon from Kansas City was a lengthy trip. We cashed in Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles to fly Business Class on British Airways. Since Alaska doesn’t fly to Kansas City, we had to purchase American Airlines tickets to Chicago. Luckily we did this before American started charging for the first or second bag. While British Airways Business Class requires 120,000 miles, we find it is a fabulous way to fly to Europe with the flat sleeper beds and the terrific spa and showers in London. We heard many horror stories of lost bags in the new terminal at Heathrow, but ours made it to Lisbon without incident.
Arriving in Lisbon about 7 pm, we took a taxi to the Marriott hotel (less than 15 minutes and 15 Euros). A great use of Marriott points, our room on the 17th floor was spacious and had a great view. In the executive lounge we discovered wines from the Douro region of Portugal, enjoying both white and red.
Friday morning we took the subway a couple of stops to reach the nearby El Corte Ingles, a Spanish de partment store. We always enjoy these stores, especially the Super Mercado (a grocery and wine store on the lowest level) which always seems to include a huge wine shop with a terrific selection. The clerk was very helpful in helping us pick out a selection of wines from Douro. Well stocked with wine and a few other items, we took a cab back to the hotel and then headed to the ship. The Marriott is about an 18-20 Euro cab ride from the pier.
Embarkation was crowded but surprisingly the line move quickly. Although it was all the same line, the fact that we had completed online check-in seemed to speed things along once we reached the customer service agent.
“As You Wish Dining” was premiering in the dining room tonight. This was our assignment, but we were able to change to a late seating assigned dining table. Lots of guests seem to want to eat early; we prefer late so that probably helped our switch.
Initially this dining change seemed to overwhelm the dining room, but it seems to be flowing much better by the second and third nights of the cruise.
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It’s terrific to be back on board the ms Prinsendam and see many familiar faces: Captain Christopher Turner and Hotel Manager Frits Gehner, along with Cruise Director Thom Faulkner and assistant cruise directors Melissa and Sparky. Gary Mangahas is the guest relations manager. And the extraordinary port lecturer Frank Buckingham is onboard and Buddy is back at the piano in the Crow’s Nest.Many of the staff has been on for both the Grand South America and the Grand Africa voyages, so they will be off for vacation soon. About 40 guests are still onboard for this sailing, following the 73-Day Grand Africa Voyage. Those we’ve met have reported they had an amazing journey.
We were curious to see the ship after its December update. The staterooms bathrooms and closets have been upgraded, with new tiles along with new tubs, toilets and sinks in the bathrooms. The walk-in closets now have built-in drawers. The library is expanded into an explorations café, while the Java café remains as it was. We particularly appreciate having wireless internet access in our stateroom on the main deck.
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After spending much of last summer exploring Europe aboard the ms Prinsendam, we are back onboard, this time for an 11-Day Heart of Bordeaux cruise sailing from Lisbon to Amsterdam.
We love wine and exploring new ports, so this was the cruise for us with a partial overnight in Bordeaux. Plus, unusual ports including Gijon, Spain; Bilbao, Spain; La Rochelle and Brest in France; St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, Dover, England; and Zeebrugge, Belgium.
We are excited to be back on board as many of our favorite officers and cruise staff are sailing. We will share some insights from the journey and hope you will “sail” along with us.
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by Jeff J
on August 25, 2007
A little rain isn’t stopping us from enjoying Bergen, Norway. We are in a cafe with comfy couches, free wi-fi and warm sjokolade (incredible hot chocolate made from melted bars.) Galleri Bryggen is the perfect spot to update our blog.
We are on the ms Veendam on the 18-Day Northern Isles Adventure cruise sailing from Copenhagen to New York, via Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.
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